Like emo's first wave, today's revival has taken issue with the category itself. But concerns over labels shouldn't get in the way of appreciating the connections between the subgenre's up-and-comers and legacy acts that reconvened like Y2K never happened.

While Frankie still remains a diehards-only release, The Age of Octeen is larger than the "post-hardcore" genre trappings, an album capable of converting skeptics previously unwilling to look for beauty and creativity beneath the din.